Thursday, March 31, 2011

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Opening day! Baseball is back and I'm over the moon. Though the baseball season really puts a cramp in my HK cinema watchin' style, I plan tokeep things chugging along as usual on the blog and This Week in Sleaze. Fear not folks. I'm sure I can pump out enough CAT III shenanigansfor you to keep visiting and ogling. But in the meantime.......

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Poster for one of my favorite HK films ever! The 1996 Milkyway/Win's Entertainment co-production ,INTRUDER, is the warped brain child of prolific writer turned director for this film only, Sammy Tsang Kan-cheung. Almost completely different in tone from Tsang's other written works which include ROYAL WARRIORS, MY HEART IS THAT ETERNAL ROSE, KING OFCOMEDY, SHAOLIN SOCCER, and KUNG FU HUSTLE (how is THAT for a resume?), INTRUDER is a relentlessly dirty thriller that can be fairly compared to darker Hitchcock. Equating the films proceedings to Hitchcock's PSYCHO is understandable as the wonderful Wu Chien-lien sheds her A MOMENT OF ROMANCE persona and rips into this cold blooded killer character.

Wu Chien-Lien

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INTRUDER rumbles along loudly only stopping for brief moments for gasps of air. Thunder and rain bang and pound for the majority of the film leaving an uneasy feeling within the viewer. A true sense of foreboding doom wreaks from beginning to end, not only in it's dark and shadowy style, but it's subtextual pre-handover theme (Yes. That overused chestnut) is surely felt and strikingly palpable. As a HK cinema outsider and picking up the cinema in it's pre-handover run-up to 1997, I was served heaping helpings of film and film comment of 'pre-handover jitters' theory and rhetoric. As a newbie around the time and eager to lap up any info esoterically HK cinema, I saw allegory in almost everything. Whether the 'jitters' were gospel or not is/was debatable. I really don't know? I wasn't there? Stories of HK talent defecting to the open arms and wallets of U.S. producers was a story oft told at the time so it certainly seems that there was tremendous trepidation, at least in the film biz. And the stories put on film in the late 80's early 90's point to a frightening infiltration by Mainlanders often portrayed as country bumpkins or brutal 'Big Circle Gang' types. Maybe the audience felt the pangs as well?

All of that nonesense aside, INTRUDER does swell with handover allegory. At least to this viewer. Wu Chien-lien's character is indeed a dangerous intruder from north of the border. Maniacal in her quest to secure a 'hongkies' existence for her and her hubby, played by Moses Chan Ho. Once Chien-lien sows the seeds of murder in the opening minutes by graphically and in a highly stylized yet tough to watch strangulation scene, she is straight as a blade and feral in her pursuit. By showing mucho depravity towards her antithesis, lazy and content to be Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung, a distinct separation of character traits, not only personal to the characters themselves but relayed to their respective peers as well, is created. Lai representing the comfortable layman of Hong Kong and Wu eerily echoing the unknown mainland interlopers to the north that could quite possibly infiltrate, saturate, and eventually change the existence of Hong Kong's denizens. While visually creepy and dangerous, with rough scenes of brutality, it's INTRUDER's fear of the unknown that really strikes home with a viewer or a viewing public facing an uncertain future?

Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung

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Ok, so, enough of that trash talk. There is such a thing as over analyzing a film. This blog is supposed to be quick and fun. So I won't get into other subtextual aspects of the film and what I think about the inclusion of Lai's poor daughter and the terror this little one goes through. I'll let you watch the film yourself. Hey! Look at my cool poster, everyone!

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That this is the lowest grossing Milkyway film,and virtually 'torpedoed Wu Chien-lien's film career'(thanks YTSL) is incredibly sad and defies my logic? This is not shiny happy people New Year's cinema or populous warm and fuzzy Wong Jing shenanigan's. INTRUDER was possible truth that people didn't want to face? Wayne Lai Yiu-cheung's character thus perfectly defining the HK audience. If I don't see it, it's not there. I'm just riffing here folks. I could be ALL wrong? =)

I rarely, if ever, use superlatives such as 'brilliant', 'genius' or 'masterpiece', often finding them overused and their meaning compromised, but with INTRUDER, I don't struggle to use these words in their most true forms. It IS a masterpiece in my eyes and in form extremely refreshing and different from what was showing in Hong Kong's theaters at the time. It's theme, considering it's time and place in the regions cinema is esoterically HK, but taken in a more broad sense is a globally frightening and entertaining thriller. Brutal and beautiful.

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For another take on this wonderful film, plus a few screen shots, click on over to A Hero Never Dies. He's easing into his CAT III film watching like an old man easing into a warm bath (thanks Seinfeld). Carefully. It's a treat to see a HK film fan of over 20 years take his first tentative steps into this 'specialized' genre. Good stuff.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Ohhhhhhh! Boobies! Though this blog is based upon CAT III films and other tales of ribaldry, this is the actual first post to contain a little nudity. I mostly try to beat around the bush (or, 'beat the bush' as HK film subtitles usually say) in regards to nudity, only alluding to scenes of nekkid people. But, while seeking assistance from a few friends with researching the earliest scenes of HK erotica for a future podcast, a friend of mine and Shaw Bros. enthusiast (nerd), K.W. hooked me up with a few old school lobby cards from his collection while on his search. And he scored nicely. I had a reservation or two about putting these up because of the nudity (Me reserved? Yes, actually. On occasion.) but thought that these images were to good to pass up sharing. Above, is Law Chun's 1977 adult erotic drama MURDER ON THE WEDDINGNIGHT. I have not seen it, or even heard of it before K.W. sent it along. Enjoy the rest of the smutty fun finds below.

HE WHO NEVER DIES (1979)

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As K.W. put it, Danny Lee pimpin' in HE WHO NEVER DIES, from INFRAMAN director, HuaShan.

Also known as, THE MONK, Dean Shek-tin wrote and directed this slightly erotic martial arts picture combining nudity and kung-fu. Above, Fung Hak-on sexes a comely young maiden. And it's only rated CAT II?!

AN AMOROUS WOMAN OF TANG DYNASTY (1984)

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I first saw this film a few months back while going through a Shaw Bros. erotica phase and was so glad that I did. Eddie Fong Ling-ching's 1984 epic, AN AMOROUS WOMAN OF TANGDYNASTY, has yet to leave my memory. I have only seen the truncated version but I am on the lookout for the full copy. The scene in the lobby card above is my absolute favorite from the film where Alex Man Chi-leung comes to rescue Pat Ha Man-jik from a few bastard swordsmen. See this film!

AN AMOROUS WOMAN OF TANG DYNASTY (1984)

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LOST SOULS (1980)-

Surely most noted for the films MEN BEHIND THE SUN in 1988 and a sequel of sorts, BLACKSUN: THE NANKING MASSACRE, in 1995, director MauDui-fai aka T.F Mous, was a Shaw Bros. genre director in the late 70's and early 80's. He was known to push the envelope with naughty and dangerous exploitation elements, more times than not, peppering the proceedings with some social commentary. The lobby cards above and below, from the 1980 roughie, LOSTSOULS, is one such example. The film reels off in the extreme with a ton of nudity and torture-porn violence. It's a tough watch for most, even for me. Dui-fai, as sensationalistic as his celluloid exploits may seem, his images are rooted in realism. Which leads to us squirming in our seats upon seeing his films.

LOST SOULS (1980)

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Big, big thanks to K.W. for the lobby cards. Keep 'em coming! For more of K.W.'s lobby cards, check out the absolutely great Facebook page, Past Divas of Hong Kong Cinema, where K-dub share his collection and his knowledge of all things old school HK cinema. You'll also find a ton of other great images from HK cinemas past. To my big brutha K.W.! The richest man in town!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Hey ya'll, just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a new Asian cinema podcast that has popped up in the past few weeks. Kindly welcome Podcast Without Honor and Humanity! The podcast is 6 episodes in and the shows creator, Jake, goes at it solo. Noooo...not like that you pervs. Jake is a lone ranger and dishes on some of his favorite Asian films, uses musical interludes, and even gives shout-outs to stuff he digs. In the first show he gives a shout-out to blueberries. Blueberries?! I dig 'em too! It's a fun new show and I really don't know how he does it? 90 minutes of one man waxing! Noooo...not like that you pervs.

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Jake was nice enough to let Sleazy K and I do a segment on episode 6 where K and I discuss our top 3 Ho Fan films. Download the fun right HERE. Give it a go and let Jake know what you think! Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Hey everybody! This Week In Sleaze episode 2 is up and runnin'! Sleazy K and I shoot a 2 1/2 hour juicy nugget into your waxy ears. This week we discuss at length some more CAT III goodness as the 1992 genre classic DR. LAMB is dissected, it's mid 80's predecessorHONGKONG BUTCHER is unearthed and chopped to bits, and we end on a rape and murder spree with our Last Movies Watched segment. K spits and foams about an IFD revenge thriller DEADLY DARLING as I gleefully spin about HK smut obscurity, THE RAPING MURDERER. Download this eventual crust stain right NOW!

DR. LAMB (1992)-

In conjunction with the podcast release, since we spew about DR. LAMB and other Billy Tang Hin-sing flicks, I figured I would throw ya'll a few poster images from a few of my favorite Tang films. The DR. LAMB poster above I bought many moons ago and already in awfully damaged condition. And even this mangled version wasn't so cheap. It came folded, as most HK posters do, and just ravaged by use. It is a poster I hold dear, though, and will hopefully eventually upgrade and then frame.

Hong Kong Butcher

The Jars Murderer

Rainy Nights Killer

Below is another dogged poster from my collection and of one of my all time favorite HK films, STREET OF FURY. STREET OF FURY is Tang's semi tongue in cheek take on the 'Goo Wat Jai' or YOUNG AND DANGEROUS genre. Released in 1996, the same year as the first 3 Y&D films, STREET OF FURY is just as violent, vibrant, funny, sharp, and edgy as the Y&D films but sadly lost in the muddle. It scrapes and nicks the CAT III genre without taking it into racy extremes. Well, not TOOOO racy.

STREET OF FURY (1996)

It kinda pisses me off a bit that these posters weren't kept in better condition before I purchased them. But as a 'collector' of sorts and relegated to a tiny apartment, I can definitely see how difficult it is to sustain posters in pristine condition. I am much better off with these crumpled works of art than without them, though. I just love 'em so!

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Below is a short scene and one of the most memorable ones from Tang's STREET OF FURY. Poor Teresa Mak Ga-kei. I fell in love with her while watching this movie. Unfortunately her career hasn't panned out as I had hoped? Here, you can see how Tang pushes the envelope into CAT III-lite territory as Teresa gets brutalized by some dirty triads. One of my favorite scenes of all-time. Enjoy!

Below is another wonderful scene from STREET OF FURY. A young triad chopper wielding punk, small potato rumble in the streets of HK. Eat your heart out YOUNG AND DANGEROUS!

Click HERE to track back and see the 2 posters I have for my favorite Billy Tang Hin-sing film and one of my top 5 HK films of...yes....all time, RUN AND KILL. Now, git! Go and download This Week In Sleaze episode 2. Light a few scented candles. Pour yourself into a hot bubble bath. Squeeze a dollop of your favorite store brand body wash into your palm. And go down below. Enjoy yourself tonight!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Allow me to step on over to the dark side for a bit, folks. The dark side that is Korean cinema. This past week a few of my blogger buddies banded together to run the Korean Cinema Blogathon 2011 and to help out their endeavor a tad I figured I would post my ONLY piece of Korean cinema memorabilia. Below is a mini poster for the wild ass film, SAVE THE GREEN PLANET. It is one of the very few Korean films that I have seen and I really dug it. I bought this poster off of Ebay a few years back for about a buck! If you are into Korean cinema (I hear people actually are?!) then check out these sites:

And, to keep this post a touch HK cinema centric, to hold down the poster, I used a few HK CAT III vcd's!

SAVE THE GREEN PLANET(2003)

A brief aside here, folks. We have ALL been following the absolutely insane devastation that has rocked Japan. If you would like to help, I have provided a link on the right side of the page. Click and please donate a little dough to the relief effort. 100% of the donations will go directly to help the victims. Thanks.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

This past Thursday Wei and I took a quick jaunt into C-town for dinner and HK movie shopping. It had been a tough week for me and we figured some comfort soul food and comfort HK DVD/VCD shopping would salve my aching soul. And it did. We met up with Wei's cousin, R, she of the "Wai Ka-fai incident," from my last post. We also left it up to her to pick a feeding joint since she's been living in Chinatown for the past year. But the poor girl just sits in her apartment and studies all day, so, while she is living in the most wonderful place on earth, NYC, she really isn't living at all. Anyway, she Yelped a few restaurants in the area and we decided to give Nice Green Bo on Bayard St. a shot.

It's Shanghainese cuisine and I was game. We hadn't eaten Shanghai grub in a while and Xiao Long Bao sounded like a plan. Leave it to R to pick a place full of whities. Wei and R were the only Chinese people in the place, save for the servers. The food, though, was tasty, and as per C-town, cheaper than dirt. We ordered and split a few fried Xiao Long Bao, Rice Cakes, Pork Chop over Rice, and Pork with Shanghai Cabbage over Rice. We've had better Xiao Long Bao but the rest of the fare was fine and hit the spot. I have also eaten better food in C-town and would only marginally recommend this spot. But if you are a cheap bastard like I am, this place will more than suffice. The bill came out to $20.30.

Before meeting up with R for din-din, Wei and I did our typical trek through my HK movie spots. I mentioned in a previous post that my HK movie selection has been steadily in decline. This trip wasn't much different. I have the majority of older films that are for sale and have recently only been picking up newer releases. Oh, well? You can't fight City Hall!

ALL'S WELL END'S WELL 2011 (2011)

Do women really want this?

The above photo is my meager swag haul. Only 2 older flicks and the rest, new releases. And there is one booter in the batch, SHAOLIN, that I will be picking up once the original release comes out. The rest of the bunch is as follows, ALL'S WELL END'S WELL 2011, I LOVE HONGKONG, THE FIRST TIME IS THE LAST TIME, HARD TOUCHING, ALL ABOUT LOVE, VAMPIRE WARRIORS, and BRUCE LEE, MY BROTHER. The two oldies, THE FIRST TIMEIS THE LAST TIME and HARD TOUCHING, I own in VCD form but neither have English subs. This DVD of HARD TOUCHING lacks subs as well but was worth a $5 shot. THE FIRST TIMEIS THE LAST TIME, though, does have English subs, so I'm kinda excited to finally give it a go. The other flicks, with the exception of maybe ALL'S WELL END'S WELL 2011, I immediately add to the top of my queue. Especially SHAOLIN and ALL ABOUT LOVE. I'm even looking forward to pushing myself to the edge of sanity with Dennis S.Y. 'oh why oh why oh why?' Law's VAMPIRE WARRIORS. I hear it's just shit. Like the majority of this fellows films. These should keep me busy for a while. Until next trip.

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About Me

Hong Kong Cinema is like sex and pizza. Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.
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I have had a love affair with Hong Kong Cinema for over 17 years now. I have accumulated over 3,000 HK films and many other HK film related items throughout those 17 years. With this blog, I am hoping to share my collection with other HK cinema fans. With my writing, I am trying to keep things light,fun,and tongue in cheek in hopes that my love affair with HK cinema continues and remains as fresh as the days I first fell in love with it. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!